Page:Backblock Ballads and Later Verses (C.J. Dennis, 1918).djvu/132



In early, prehistoric days, before the reign of Man, When neolithic Nature fashioned things upon a plan That was large as it was rugged, and, in truth, a trifle crude, There arose a dusky human who was positively rude.

Now, this was in the days when lived the monster kangaroo; When the mammoth gambolled in the hills of Beetaloo; They'd owned the land for centuries, and counted it their own; For might was right, and such a thing as "law" was quite unknown.

But this dusky old reformer in the ages long ago, One morning in the Eocene discovered how to "throw"; He studied well and practised hard until he'd learned the art; Then, having planned his Great Campaign, went forth to make a start.

"See here," he said—and hurled a piece of tertiary rock, That struck a Tory bunyip with a most unpleasant shock— "See here, my name is Progress, and your methods are too slow; This land that you are fooling with must be cut up. Now go!"